Grand Rapids, Michigan-based SpartanNash has issued the following statement commenting on the press release issued by Macellum Advisors GP and Ancora Holdings Group.
SpartanNash stated that the Investor Group’s press release issued May 2 is full of false and misleading statements.
The Investor Group’s press release claims that Doug Hacker, SpartanNash’s chair of the board, and Tony Sarsam, SpartanNash CEO, did not respond to their outreach – the company has said this is an “outright lie.” The company did respond to the Investor Group, and Hacker sent the letter below directly to Jonathan Duskin, CEO of Macellum, on April 29:
“Thank you for your note. The SpartanNash board takes its fiduciary responsibilities very seriously. As we have stated publicly, we are open to hearing any ideas – from any source – that would be beneficial to our shareholders.
“If you have had conversations with credible parties that would be interested in a transaction, we encourage you to have them reach out to us directly – as would be typical for the situation. I can assure you that the board will act promptly and appropriately to assess the attractiveness and credibility of any such outreach.
“If you have other pertinent details regarding these conversations, please let us know.”
The company wishes to set the record straight with this release – since the company began engaging with Macellum in 2021, SpartanNash has not received any offers to buy the company, nor has it been approached directly by any strategic or financial buyer to acquire the company.
The press release issued May 2 from the Investor Group referencing leaks to the media and their previous claims to have received unsolicited communications from strategic buyers interested in a transaction is just another part of their recycled playbook that they have attempted to use at apparel, discount and department store retailers, according to SpartanNash.
SpartanNash believes the Investor Group’s sudden interest in aligning on a settlement appears to be more tactical than it is genuine given they did not respond to the email from its chair of the board before they issued the press release. The company has attempted to reach a constructive resolution with Macellum on multiple occasions and its offers were rejected outright.
The SpartanNash board said it is committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders and looks forward to continuing to engage with its shareholders on all of these matters ahead of the company’s upcoming annual meeting.
For more information, visit spartannash.com.
To read the other releases from The Shelby Report regarding SpartanNash and the Investor Group, click here or here.
